Mechanical, thermal stability, and flame retardancy performance of transparent wood composite improved with delaminated Ti3C2Tx (MXene) nanosheets

Transparent wood (TW) is a promising optical material, which provides a potential choice for windows applications. As a polymer composite material, the mechanical, thermal stability, and flame retardant of TW are crucial properties in practical applications. In this study, the delaminated Ti3C2Tx (MXene) were dispersed into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and then infiltrated into delignified wood to prepare MXene-reinforced transparent wood (TW-MXene). The MXene addition leads to an interlocking mechanism between MXene fillers with a polymer matrix (e.g., PVA, cellulose scaffold), thereby improving the tensile strength of TW. Besides, the dynamic mechanical analysis also proved that the tensile strength of TW-MXene is significantly higher than pure transparent wood with changing the temperature at -50 to 150 degrees C. The TW added with 1 wt% MXene maintained a lower thermal conductivity of 0.31 W m(-1) K-1, and it showed better UV resistance than TW. Besides, the thermal decomposition rate of TW-MXene composite slows down, and its weight loss rate decreases with the addition of MXene. Furthermore, the presence of 1 wt% MXene endowed TW with 9.3 and 22.0% reductions for PHRR and THR, respectively. This strategy provides an insight into the development of high-performance transparent wood composites with the potential to be used in building fields.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the preparation of MXene-reinforced transparent wood by dispersing MXene in polyvinyl alcohol and infiltrating it into delignified wood. The addition of MXene improves the tensile strength, thermal stability, flame retardant properties, and UV resistance of transparent wood, as well as reduces the thermal decomposition rate.